Fusion of Worlds
by Sonadow
Summary: Harpuia,Leviathan,Fafnir and Zero have managed to corner Dr Weil,but he has given them the slip once again...by sending all of them to an alternate world.MegamanZeroSonic crossover.
1. Chapter 1

"Your ambitions finally end here,doctor,"came a wierd,female like voice from the blasted down reinforced door."Oh,how rude of me.I should have addressed you by your complete name,Dr Weil."

Weil snickered as he turned around to face the 3 intruders.His little game may be at an end,but he was far from finished:He still had a card left to play.And a trump card at that,too."Well,well,well.If it isnt the 3 famous generals,Guardians of Neo-Arcadia and loyals servants of the deceased Copy X..."a fiery projectile suddenly shot forth and whizzed past his helmet,slicing through 1 of the studs."Opps,i missed.How impolite and unrefined of me to have damaged your helmet,"the red general taunted,smoke emitting from tthe barrel of his wrist mounted cannons."But dont worry,you dont need to repair it,cause the next one wont leave a head behind for you,since i wont miss again." Weil didnt dare to do anything other than to throw him a nasty glare.

"you have no right at all to even mention the name of our Master,"the blue guardian spat angrilly.Like the other 2,she was deeply loyal to Copy X"You think of yourself as a hero,but you dont behave like one.All this talk about making the world better for humans,and here you are,squeezing the very life out of them in Neo-Arcadia."

"Hero huh?"Weil decided to play along."I wonder how many more died under the 'heroes' X and Zero?"

"Shut up,"THe green reploid shot back."Master X devoted all his time to making Neo-Arcadia a human's paradise.Zero was a balancer,fighting to save the innocent reploids which we murdered while under Master X's command.But you,"he glared at Weil with hatred burning in his eyes."You have no reason to take any lives,be it human or reploid.You're just a cold-blooded murderer.Master X should have retired you a long time ago.But it's just too bad that he chose to expel you instead.Today,i shall finish what he didnt manage to complete,and i'll start by deleting you."

"Go ahead and try it,'guardians',"Weil challenged as he brought out a remote control with 2 buttons."see this?i'll just need to push this button,and boom,Neo-Arcadia will be wiped cleanly off the world maps forever."He couldnt help but grin,expecting the generals to express shock or falter, or even to negiotiate with him.

"Go ahead,"the green reploid answered cooly."Push the button.Blow everything up to hell."

A look of total bewilderment cross Weil's face."Arent you all going to try and STOP me?I'm going to kill the humans you've sworn to protected!What..."He sputtered incohherently,obviosly not expecting this current turn of events.

"we KNEW what your twisted mind was capable of,and had pre-empted that it would come to this,using the huamns as a bargaining chip.And we came here,expecting to leave our lives behind today."The green general explained,his voice mixed with regret,as he raised his pink beam saber at Weil,as if daring him to push the button."Neo-Arcadia can be rebuilt,the land reinhibited,its guardians rebuilt,but the likes of you must be terminated once and for all.It just breaks my heart though,that so many innocent humans have to die because of this."Then his voice became forceful."They shall not die in vain.I swear,on the millions that you'll coold-bloodedly kill today,that today shall be the last time the world has to put up with the villian known as Dr Weil."

Weil was completly taken aback and started to panic as the 3 guardians advanced towards him,desperetly trying to figure a way out of this mess.He did not dare to destroy himself by detonating the explosives,and his eyes fell upon the 2nd button on the remote.That button operated a trans time-dimension device which has been nothing but a failure right from the start.Which made him even more reluctant to use it now.

The hiss of melting metal distracted the 4 reploids,and they looked up just in time to see a green beam saber slice a hole through the ceiling as a crimson red reploid with long gold hair lept through the new opening and dropped gracefully down into the room."How impolite,going off into a fun battle without informing you 'friendly' neighbourhood rival AND rebel,"he said sardonically."Looks like nobody wants to play with me anymore.How sad."

"Oh,its you,"the green reploid answered so coldly it almost froze everyone."there was no need to.Figured you'd always find your way here to clean up our mess once we're done.so we didnt think of it."

Weil decided to act now that the 4 reploids were distracted,and took the risk with the 2nd button."You havent seen th elast of me yet!Die!Muahaha!"And with that,he pushed the 2nd button.Almost immediatly,a dark purple vortex surrounded all of them...

* * *

"Sonic!What's that?"A 2-tailed fox pointed out at a huge purple vortex of energy which seemed to be getting bigger and bigger by the seconds.It was something which they had never seen before. 

"No idea.get Red down here,just in case its something nasty.I'll go check it out."And with that,the blue hedgehog sprinted off even before his fox friend could voice out his displeasure of being ordered to do the dirty tasks of fetching people around.He scowled and left in the opposite direction to bring the red echinda over.

Sonic stopped as the purple vortex slowly started to shrink and disappear,leaving 4 robots...no,they dont look like one of Eggman's robots.Androids?It couldnt be,since andrioids were outlawed in Mobius,and Eggman's last experiments with andriods had only resulted in a huge disaster for himself.Humans?Impossible.So what ARE they?

He turned back and was displeased with what he saw."I only told you to bring Red along,"he scolded the young kitsune."But you went and brought all the Knothole Freedom Fighters,and the Queen along!Did you listen to me?Nooooooo!"

Tails was equally peeved."Im not always here to do your dirty chores!"he snapped back."And besides,with something as big as thing,you expect me to hide it from them?can you use your brain for once and just think!"

A loud groan from the 4 'aliens' interupted their interesting conversation and they focused their attention on them...

* * *

"Gripe,i think we're in deep trouble.Those...animals,if you would call them animals,dont seem to be particularly friendly." 

"I'll handle this.You are notorious for making the most pleasent meetings turn into dissasters."The green general stumbled slowly towards the large group of so-called 'mutated' animals,but their immediatly raised their weapons at him.He immediatly understood,and deactivated his beam sabers and dropped them on the ground."We surrender,"he announced,holding up his hands to prove that he had no other weapons concealed."We're not your enemies,and we dont intend to be.We're in need of help.May i speak to the leader?"

"I am."He turned to see what looks like a female squirrel."Sally Acorn,Queen of Knothole.The blue hedgehog is Sonic,the leader of the Freedom Fighters.The kitsune with 2 tails is Miles Prower,but he prefers to be called Tails.And the red echinda is Knuckles,guardian of Angel Island.And i ask that you identify yourself,stranger."

_Stranger?Well,that's a step up from being called an alien,_he thought."Sage Harpuia,Guardian of the human colony Neo-Arcadia.The dark skinned reploid in red is Fafnir,and the blue one is Leviathan.We 3 are guarduans of Neo-Arcadia.And the one with gold hair is Zero,former legend and the moving force of the Rebel forces."

"We prefer to be known as the Resistance forces,if you please,"Zero remarked dryly.

"Resistance,Rebellion,po-tay-to,po-tah-to,to-may-to,to-mah-to.Dont interupt."he turned back to Sally Acorn."We are in need of help,and will co-oporate fully with you.I hope you understand that we're not your enemies."

Sally nodded slowly in understanding."I believe that you arent hostile,but as a security measure,we have to take you to the lockup.My men will relieve you of your weapons and armor.Dont worry,once we've established that you arent a threat to us we'll return them back."

"HOw do you remove the armor of a robot?"

Sally looked shocked."You're...robots?but..."

"your highness,its complex.I'll explain later,"Harpuia answered as he handed his beam sabers over to Sonic,while motioning to the other sto follow suit.Fafnir seemed especially reluctant to part with his dual cannons,but quickly surrendered them anyway after Leviathan gave him a good kick to the knee.

* * *

"If you're ready,please follow me to the lockup." 

"That's a fine mess you got us into this time,'Sage',"Fafnir complained as he tried to make himself comfortable in the cold cell."Thanks to you,we're stuck in this cell,without any weapons!I wonder how long they're going to make us wait."

"Oh yeah?Knowing you,you would have gone around blasting at everything you see,and made yourself the royal enemy number 1.It would seem that you only used your head for headbutts."

Fafnir glared at Leviathan but did not dare do anything.At least,not with Zero around.That blonde reploid could easilly bust him up good,with or without his weapons.He had no time to think further as a castle guard came to unlock the cell."The castle is in session now,"he informed them."Please be mindful of your words when you appear before everyone later."

"Understood,"Harpuia knowledged."Lead the way,please"HOwever,before leaving,he used his network chip to communicate with the other 3,to prevent the guard from listening to him._i'll do the talking later,since you 3 fools are hopeless in diplomacy._

* * *

Harpuia could not believe his eyes as they walked though the castle halls.As far as he could see,they had turned out the entire castle just for this one session.Bodyguards were everywhere,manning the exit,and every last Freedom Fighter he remebered seeing at their 'landing spot' were present,as well as a few new faces,were also present,taking up various positions around the castle's interiorsTHe guard led them towards a long table,which many other important looking personnel were seated,among them Sonic,Tails and Knuckles as well as what looked like a skunk.Harpuia managed to make out his appointment on the name card as they passed by:Geoffery St John,Secret Service. 

_So they have a secret service_he thought._This may make my job easier_

He didnt manage to think further as the gurrd pointed out 4 chairs with their names and appointments stuck on the table with a namecard,although he was a tad amused by what Zero's card read:_Resistance Leader,Rebel Forces_From the corner of his eye,it seemed that Zero wasnt too happy about the title they had given him.him.

"Your highness,all the personnel are present.We can start now."

she nodded."THe Royal Court of Knothole is now in session.We have established that the 4 of you are no threats to our safety and security.Your weapons and possesions shall be returned to you shortly after this,and you'll be granted the basic rights of every citizen in Knothole."

Harpuia bowed softly."Thank you,your highness."

"No problem."She looked down to consult her list for a second."Which brings us to the next agenda.What are you all,actually?You dont look or behave like robots."

Harpuia glanced at the other 3 reploids.They seemed either unable or unwilling to answer,so he decided to do all the talking."Your highness,technically,re are robots.To be precise,we're what you would call 'Reploids',robots which possess free will and the ability to feel all kinds of human emotions,like pain,betrayal,fatigus,and so on.""They are a common sight from where we come from,by the way,"he added unnesessarilly.

Almost immediatly the crowd started mummering among themselves. "Robots with free will and emotions...how interesting""is the queen going to fall for that?" "how can robots possess free will?"

Sally punched her fist on the table."Silence!"Almost immediatly the mummering stopped."Robots with free will...emotions,"she mumbled as she scribbled furiously on a piece of paper."Interesting.Now,please tell us about Neo-Arcadia,and what's going on there,to how you ended up here,please.And dont mince words,keep it as detailed as possible."

"Certainly,your highness."Harpuia then proceeded to give a brief history of how the original X disappeared,how one of their scientists,Ceil,created a Copy of X,appropriatly named Copy X,to carry on the original X's dream of an ideal world where reploids,humans and sentients co-existed,how Copy X warped that ideal into a human-only paradise world,how Ceil defected to the Resistance in an attempt to destroy the flawed copy she made,how Zero came in to protect the innocent reploids they were retiring and how he destroyed Copy X,how Epilizo was corrupted by the Dark Elf,how Dr Weil factored in,how he created a fake Copy X to misle the 3 guardians,how Dr Weil effectively seized power over Neo-Arcadia and started a reign of terror,how he attempted to destroy the remaining bits of nature left so that the humans would cower back to Neo-Arcadia...he made the last part as short as simple as he could,seeing how furiously the scribe was working to get everything written down.Although he couldnt help but wonder why in the world they would need a scribe when there were 3 audio recorders in front of them recording every single word that was being spoken.He stole a glance at Sally Acorn who seemed deep in thought.Sonic had already fallen asleep,while Tails and Knuckles had looks of disbelief written on their faces.He didnt blame them though:all this seemed extremely ridiculous to him as well.

"Interesting,most interesting...so,you're saying,that incident that brought you here would have most likely brought Doctor Weil in here too?"

"Yes,"Harpuia agreed."And i do have have a feeling that while we're still on the same planet,we must have been sent through dimensions and backwards in time when that vortex surrounded us in the room.I noticed that your year reads 20XX,while my digital clock is set at 23XX."

"Very likely,"Tails suddenly spoke up.We've already established that we share the same planet with the human world,but our existance remains unknown because they have yet to discover the different dimensions that can exist within 1 planet itself.That would land sizable credibility to your claim of being thransported through time and dimension."Harpuia couldnt help but stare at the young fox.He may look extremely young,but there's no denying that he's probably one of the best brains they have.

"Yes.And if your crazy genius Dr Weil meets up with OUR crazy Genius Dr Eggman,things will get pretty nasty for us."

"That's quite an understatement,dont you think so,Sal?"

She scowled at Sonic and turned her attention to the reploids."We would be glad to assist you in returning to your own time and dimension.But then again,we cannot rule out the possibility of 2 crazy geniuses wrecking havok in your kingdom.As such,i ask that you stay behind to help us defend against a possible attack by our 2 crazy scientists.Once the threat has been dealt with we'll assist in sending you back to where you came from.Is that a reasonable arrangement."

"Very.we intend to destroy him once and for all as well,before returning back to Neo-Arcadia.We accept your arrangement,your highness."

She just smiled and extended a hand."Welcome to Knothole."

* * *

"I say,that was one of the worst meeting i ever had,"Harpuia complained later as they were being escorted to their new room. 

"Hey,dont complain.You were the one who said to let you do all the talking."

"Ok then,Mr Muscle-Brain,pray tell,which nutcase would suddenly interupt a meeting to ask,'General Harpuia,i can see how your companions are either distinctly male or female,but while you behave like a male,you have a distictly female body and a female voice,would you mind telling me what are you'!Now the whole of Knothole knows that i'm a male with a female body and a female voice,minus the female assets,'he complained loudly.

"You didnt complain when the whole of Neo-Arcadia knew about that then.Anyway,that subject did make the meeting more lively,dont you think so?At least,even that blue hedgehog was awake for once.Awake laughing,that is."

"And besides,its always nice to have a pretty boy around,dont you think?"Zero wisely opted to stay out of their squabble,walking far behind to make himself as inconspicious as possible.

Harpuia narrowed his eyes at Fafnir and Leviathan."I swear,i'll retire you both one of these days."

* * *

And there you go,my first attempt at a RockmanZero/Sonic crossover!How did ya like it?Please review!Thanks! ;) 


	2. Chapter 2

"There you go.4 guests,2 rooms,all tidied and cleaned up just for you.Here are the keys to the doors," He dropped the keys into Harpuia's outstretched palm."the one with an 'X' opens room 1,and the one with a 'Z' is for room 3." Harpuia couldnt help but give a tiny smile at the pun on theirs and Zero's names."I'll came over tomorrow at around 8am to escort you to the discussion room.Make sure you get some coffee ready,those meetings can bore even a robot out of his processors.If there's nothing else,i'll take my leave for now." Harpuia nodded and waved as the guard disappeared around the corner,leaving him alone to decide on the sleeping arrangements.Zero almost swore that he saw the green reploid's emerald green eyes scream bloody murder but wisely chose not to make his opinions known,especially when the green guardian was in 1 of his moods.Harpuia shifted his gaze from the keys to his companions,trying to make a decision.He was all too well aware that Fafnir + Zero -> Major Trouble and Fafnir + Leviathan -> God Knows What.

"Sage,i'm sleeping with Fairy,"Fafnir announced,striding forard to grab one of the keys,but Harpuia deftly flicked the key to Zero,who caught it with ease."Aww,come on.You know i only got to spend the night with her once!And what happened then was not my fault!I mean,that darned engine oil somehow found its way up into my brain and then before i knew it,everything was just a blur of..."he trailled off when Harpuia gave him a hard and uncompromising stare,realising that he wasnt buying his story."Sheesh.Fine!Do as you wish.Just dont put me with that red goon over there."

"No,You'll sharing MY room.At least,i know i can keep a close watch on you this way.After what you did with that female escort the last time it was your turn for escort duty,it'll be a cold day in hell before i ever put another female under your protection,be it human or reploid."

"You cant put all the blame on me,"Fafnir protested."It was her fault for choosing such a seductive set of clothes for that particular day.Which sane male wouldnt drool at such a revealing costume?And besides,what has that got to do with sleeping in Fairy's room?Its not as if im going to try and take advantage of...i mean,she would probably give me a good number before i even make the approach."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"Leviathan snapped.

"Dont need to try and deny it,Fairy.We all know you...awwkk!"Fafnir's speech was cut short from the thrust kick Leviathan gave him to the midsection,causing him to bend over."I what?"she demanded.

"ouch...no..nothing..."Fafnir mumbled,having no desire to annoy the already pissed-off Leviathan. Harpuia just groaned._Why cant i have companions who behave like normal?Or even like Zero?_he whinned inwardly._Keep this up,and i'll go insane in no time.If anything,it seems that the only logical option left would be to trust Fairy with Zero.I hope he wont betray that trust of mine._ "Zero,i'll leave Fairy under your care.Can i hope that i can trust you with her and not trying anything funny without my knowledge?"he asked,suddenly feeling extremely stupid for having asked that question.

"Perhaps the question you should have asked was,'can i hope that **_she_** wouldnt try anything stupid while im sleeping'",Zero answered calmly.Harpuia know what he meant;he had seen Leviathan's eyes practically light up upon mentioning that she would be sharing Zero's room."Ease off,Harpuia.I'll protect her with my life if necessary.And yes,i swear that i wont try anything with her."He unlocked the door and motioned to Leviathan to enter. Harpuia watched silently as the door clicked itself shut,wondering if he made the right choice putting Zero into Leviathan's room.Sure,Zero would be strong enough to protect her should there be any trouble,but what if he decides to try something stupid...he phased that thought out of his mind._Perhaps i should be more concerend if Fairy tries something stupid instead of him,_ he thought as he slammed his door shut,startling Fafnir,who seemed to be on his way to dreamland.

"Was that necessary,Sage?"Fafnir grumbled."You have been acting strangly since we came here.Perhaps you should have gone for that holiday your men recommended.Get yourself away from all this nonsense once in awhile.It does wonders,you know.I've already done so twice,makes me feel on top of the world,"he sugested.Harpuia had to bite his lip to prevent himself from making a smart-aleck remark to that opinion."So that's where all the outstanding 'Extras' expenses come in huh,"he remarked sourly."Dont think i havent been going through the accounts book back in HQ.You know we're cash strapped,and there you are,using our funds to go for a holiday.Really,i should have you taken out and shot for that."

"Aww...i'm not the only one,you know,"Fafnir protested."You should see how many others do it too.And besides,i figured it wouldnt hurt draw out just a couple hundred bucks or so..." Harpuia just waved him off."Save it.Im not interested in listening to that right now.And get yourself geared up for battle;its coming to find us soon enough."

Fafnir's lips slowly curled into a grin."Now,i love fighting."

"Fafnir?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up already and go to bed."

"Idiot."

* * *

Harpuia suddenly sat up in bed,his armor slick with artificial pespiration.Did someone just call out for help,or was it just his imagination?He decided to go with the latter and was about to resume his interupted sleep when the cry came out again.Louder and more desperate,this time.In fact,it sounded so close and familiar that Harpuia couldnt believe it.After all,Leviathan had often been refered to as 'the girl who cried wolf'.But when the cry sounded again for the thrid time,he knew that something was seriously wrong.Irritating as she may be,Leviathan wasnt the kind who would play a trick for more than 30 seconds.Immediatly he dragged Fafnir out of bed and fumbled furiously with the doorknob,trying to get it open.Fafnit wasnt pleased one bit."This had better be good,Sage.You interupted my sweet dreams,almost tore my arm off its socket,dumped me here unceremoniously on the floor,and now you're trying to break the door down.Just what is eating you?" Harpuia was about to belt him hard with his fist when he realised that something was horribly wrong."Fafnir,"he whispered hoarsely."I think we have been locked in.Someone must have anticipated this,and we've convinetly walked into his trap."

Fafnir couldnt believe what he was hearing."Err,you ok up there,Sage?"he asked,pointing to his head."What trap?We just came into this dimension.No one else other than this kingdom knows of our existance.How couldnt anyone be fast enough to set a trap?What even makes you think that we've walked right into a set-up?Unless you suspect that the Freedom Fighters are up to no good?Even if we assume that Weil was also thrown into this dimension,there's no way he could have found out where we're putting up in."

"Of course not,"Harpuia snorted.He reached for the beam saber attached to his thigh."I'm going to break out.Get your weapons primed,because im anticipating a fight." he raised the weapon high up and cleaved the door into perfects halves.He didnt even have time to react:a huge cloud of flame suddenly burst into the room,torching Harpuia badly and igniting the fuel in his jet boosters.He quickly tore the jetpacks off his body and dove for cover,dragging Fafnir down with him.And not a moment too soon,for the booters immdetly exploded,blowing off a huge hole in the room."Just who ARE they?"he yelled to Fafnir,who seemed to be inspecting the dead body left behind.

"This ain't no sentient,that's for sure.A flame robot Mk III prototype.A little dated,but they get the job done.this one appears to have been modified as well."

Harpuia didnt belive a single word of what he said."since when did you become an expert on battle moddles?"he asked."you couldnt even tell the difference between the Defender and Guard droids we had back in Neo Arcadia.No wait,dont answer me."He pointed to Zero's room."Our next destination."he announced."Fafnir didnt need a second invitation;he zeroed his wrist cannons on the door and blew it to pieces with just a single blast."Fairy?Zero?Anyone?"

"Over here!"Leviathan called out,coughing from the dust Fafnir had created from demolishing the door."Save...Zero...he cough got zapped by those electric currents...been there for more then 3 minutes already...hack.Do something..quick...he cant hold out much longer..."she collapsed into Fafnir's arms before she could complete her sentence.Harpuia immediatly stepped in to take control."Faf,you take Fairy out quickly to safety and see if you can find those freedom fighters.i'll try to get Zero out of here and we'll meet up later."

"Watch yourself.Sage.This whole place has been charged by the electric currents,and besides,he's still our enemy.I'm all for leaving him here."

Harpuia pondered over his words for a few seconds."Perhaps so,'he finally conceded."But bear in mind that it's the Resistance that we're after.And furthermore,dont forget that we have been destroying innocent reploids indiscriminetly under Master X's orders.Can't really blame them actually."He headed towards Zero's limp body,which was lying on the ground,with electric arcs still coursing all over him."And i'm not about to let a legend die just like from me,it's the last thing you would expect to hear,but i want him to find and lead the Resistance.Somewhere in the back of my head,i always think that he'll be the one to save the world when the time comes."

"I see...i dont understand a word at all.But it appears that i wont be able to talk you out of it.You be careful then.And dont worry about Fairy.I'll get her out of here."Harpuia watched his retreating figure,then got down on his knees and proceeded to work on Zero.Fortunatly for him,his reploid body had been specially designed to endure much higher level charges then compared to normal reploids,which was the main reason why he could summon lightning from the skies while others could not do so.But even with this added protection,he was feeling the electric charges sting right through his armor and nueral net.And Zero had been there for...more than 3 minutes?He couldnt help but marvel at Zero's fighting spirit,while at the same time,admit that Zero was truely the fabled legend and red terror as believed.

He had no time to think further,for the room suddenly began to catch fire.Crimson clouds of flame burst out from well-concealed ignitors scattered throughout the room,turning the entire place into a blazing inferno.Dispite his situation,Harpuia couldnt help but wonder how in the world did those ignitors escape his sensors when he entered the rooms. He was just about to dash out from the blaze when a gloved hand suddenly grabbed hold of him and shot off at a speed faster than sound.Harpuia needed no guessing as to who his savior was,allowing himself a little time to enjoy the wind blowing against his face while Sonic pulled them away to safety.

"Now i finally know why you're named 'Sonic',"Harpuia kidded when the blue hedgehog finally stopped in front of the hidden freedom fighters base."Dont you get tired?And did you manage to get my companions out as well?"

"Whoa there,ease off the questions.I only just heard about the ambush.Arrived just in time to grab you 2 pretty kids there from being toasted alive.What,you mean,the other 2 are still in there?"He was about to dash off again but Hapuia grabbed his arm."Dont bother.I'll track them down.Those 2 have tracking signals built into their systems.Let's see...no,this cant be right.It's...impossible."

"What's impossible?"Harpuia had not noticed the young kitsune listening in until he spoke out,startling both him and Sonic."Whoa,Tails!Stop sneaking up on us like that!Ahh...i give up.I'm going back to sleep.You can settle the problem with our green friend if you want."Harpuia gave a scowl as Sonic disappeared into the building,then turned his attention back to Tails."I cannot register their signals.Which is impossible,since these things have a range of 1500 kilometers."

Tails thought over it for a few seconds."Are your tracking codes encrypted?"he asked."If they arent,upload them to my datapad and let me try to track them down for you.Now,let's try these..."he keyed in a few lines od codes into the datapad,and 2 flashing blips appeard on the screen."There we are.Your lost friends.And rather near,too.I'll go get them for you."

"Wait!"Harpuia called out."How did you manage to retrieve their signal?"Tails just grinned and flew off,twisting his twin tails as if they were propellors,and he was gone in a second.Harpuia sat down on the ground,watching Tails fly off,and couldnt help but think about the questions he had unanswered.

"Tails to Harpuia,radio check."

"Tails!How in the?"

Laughter could be heard from the other end."Nothing.your network signal was jammed,that's all.So i uploaded your codes into a different network and manipulated the server to change the networks of your companions as well.now that the main server has recovered from the jamming,i just simply rewired all your networks to their default settings,that's all."

Harpuia couldnt believe it."How did you manage to access the server?That thing is securly locked down by passwords and firewalls."

Tails grinned."Im not their 'tech' guy for nothing.Stay on your toes,im airlifting them back now.THe red one's ok but the blue one seems quite bad.You may want to attend to her quickly."

"Thanks for the info.And please try not to hack our network again.Its quite embarassing."His only response was a laugh before Tails ternimated the connection.

* * *

"What do you mean,you're going to fight now?"Harpuia couldnt believe his ears."Do you have any information about the enemy?Their numbers?Type of weaponary?Or even their location?Do you even know what they're planning for us?"

"Hey,cool it.When we say we're fighting now,we're merely organizing all our numbers and personnel to get ready for a battle.Of course we arent stupid enough to fight a battle without any prior knowledge about the enemy we're going to face,"sally explained."While we wait for the intel to come in,why dont you and your companions familiarize yourselves with our fighters and their abilities?You will have to work together with them in time to come."

"I know about Sonic and Tails already,"Harpuia answered."How about Knuckles?Annd who's that black hedgehog who closely resembles Sonic?And most importantly,who;s that human over there?"

"Ahh,those 2.No one knows what they are thinking about,since they often isolate themselves from the others.The black hedgehog is Shadow,who was created by Dr Eggman's grandfather,and is said to be the Ultimate Lifeform.He was the result of an experiment,and is ageless.Not only do he posesses all of Sonic's abilities,he can release extremely devastating attacks when in posession of a Chaos Emeralds.He is the only one in here who can truely bring out the true power of the Choas Emeralds and its energy.And like Sonic,when he accquires 7 Chaos Emeralds,he can transform into Super Shadow,which is a near-invincible form.That human...other than his name,no one knows much about him.He's known as Trance,by the way.And dont underestimate him:that person a real swordsmaster.Even our best fencer cant last more than 10 secinds against him.How he ended up here is still a mystery,but he seems contented with the life here,and if he decides to stay,it would be a great addition to the pool of fighters we have."

Harpuia snorted."I dont like the idea of putting humans,or even sentients,in danger.It goes against my programming.I think i'll stick around this Trance for the time being,if only to act as his guardian."

"Chill,Sage.You go and play hero for all you want,"Fafnir broke in."i'll choose Shadow anytime.I'm always looking for a good sparring partner,and i would love to see if this hedgehog is truely the 'Ultimate Lifefom'."

"You leave a scratch on that hedgehog and i'll retire you myself,you hear me?"

Leviathan looked around for a few seconds."I'll join Tails,then."

"Which leaves me with Sonic.Thanks alot.This is the treatment i get for being an outsider."

Sally sighed."Speak with them if you want.I have sent down instructions for them to work closely with you.When you're ready,come down over to the operations room.We're discuss our stretegy from there."

* * *

And there we are,Chapter 2,finally completed.I think it stinks,since i couldnt think up a decent plot.Pls review. 


	3. Chapter 3

"I know you have been following me for a long time already. Even a fool would have caught you by now. So just drop it and show yourself."

Harpuia bit his lip and muttered something uncomplimentary under his breath, annoyed at being found out so soon. He was fully aware that his skills at blending in with the shadows were nothing short of an epic failure, but the boy was also being needlessly brutal with his remarks.

_It's times like this I wish I managed to convince the Council to salvage Phantom's remains and reconstruct him, or at the very least, train someone to fill in the empty position instead of dissolving the Zan'ei division," _he thought sourly to himself as he dropped down from the canopy of trees to land right before Trance.

"Look, I mean no harm," Harpuia stated, trying to set the basics right between them. "It's just that Her Highness has given orders for me to work alongside with you until this mess is resolved and I know nothing about you, that's way I want to get to know more about you…"

Trance just turned away. "Sorry, I'm not interested in introductions. And it's also not my concern whether the order was handed down from the Princess or anyone else. Now go away. I've wasted enough time on you." However, before he could walk away, a metallic hand caught hold of him.

"No can do. I made a promise to watch over you, and I'm going to keep it. Even if it means tagging along at every step." Trance snarled at him and tried to shake his arm free from the grip, but Harpuia's grasp was firm and unyielding.

"Let go, robot."

"Only if you will co-operate."

"I'm giving you one last chance, robot. Let go or you will be sorry you ever looked me up in the first place. Don't think I won't destroy you just because you are a guest."

"I'm still not going to let go."

"Then you asked for it!" A long sword suddenly appeared magically in Trance's hand, and he swung the weapon straight at Harpuia. Usually, the armor on the guardian was hard enough to easily defend against weapons like swords and daggers, but to the Harpuia's shock, Trance's weapon sliced through his body like a hot knife on butter. Blood immediately splattered out from the wound, but the guardian refused to budge, even those the pain was almost too much for him to bear.

Trance, however, could not believe what he just saw. All he could to was stand and stare in silence while Harpuia's blood dripped onto the ground, forming a large puddle. _But this is impossible! _His mind starting screaming. _Robots don't have blood! And they are not supposed to feel pain! Just what is this guy?!_

"Who...no, what...are you?" he finally asked after a long spell of silence. "Robot's aren't supposed to bleed...or even have any form of emotions." Harpuia couldn't help but notice that some of the malice in the boy's voice had disappeared, and surprised both himself and Trance by managing a pained smile.

"Robot...i have not heard that term for a long time already...but I suppose that technically, we're still robots, even after all the upgrades and advancements." He finally released his grip, deciding there was no longer a need to restrain the boy. "We're reploids, or in layman terms', robots with free will and the ability to understand emotions. And yes, that means we have feelings. Hurt, pain, anger...they are as natural to us as they are to humans."

"But you are still not one of us," Trance cut in bluntly. Harpuia winced at the tactless admission. The boy did have a point though: technology could make them as human-like as possible, but in the end, they were still artificial beings constructed out of metal and synthesized organics, and were by no means pureblood humans. As long as that fact remains, no human in their right mind would ever accept them as equals.

"I suppose you are right," he admitted uneasily, unwilling to make too much a fuss over such an issue. "It's not something I'd want to debate anyway."

"Fair enough. Now, I'll ask you again, what do you want?"

Harpuia rolled his eyes. "Didnt you hear a word I said? Just 7 minutes and 3 seconds ago, I approached you because i…"

Trance cut him off. "I heard you first time. My question is, what do you want now? i…" he trailed off as he spotted the blood dripping down steadily. "That's not real flesh and blood now, is it?"

"It's not," Harpuia admitted. "But our engineers managed to artificially synthesize human flesh and blood in such a way that it is chemically identical with humans...but Reploid blood is incompatible with human blood, of course." He blinked as the boy suddenly strode up to him, resting his hand on his mid-section. "Wha...what are you doing?"

"It's chemically identical with human flesh, is it not?"

Harpuia squirmed as Triance started to rub his mid-section softly. "Stt...stop that..." he protested, his face starting to turn a bright red. "This is not right...we shouldnt be touching each other..."

Trance just stared at the green reploid as though he was some kind of freak. "Just what are you thinking about up there, you pervert?" he shot, visibly annoyed and embarrassed. "I'm just trying to help you heal that injury i did to you just now!" True enough, the moment Trance removed his hand, part of the gash on Harpuia's body had closed up, concealing some evidence of the little brawl they had not too long ago. "You thought i was trying to hit on you?! Figures! All that technology, and they chose to program you with sexuality instead of intelligence! I...mmrrph!!" Harpuia had clamped his hand over the boy's mouth, cutting him off before he could continue ranting. "Quiet now," he hissed. "We don't want this misunderstanding to leak out! I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions, ok? The last thing i need is more fuel for gossips about my supposedly gender-challenged physique!"

"Lemee goopmh..." Trance complained, struggling against the cold metallic hand over his face that was threatening to suffocate him slowly, although Harpuia seemed to be completely oblivious to it. Only after the boy had kicked him away and started gasping for breath did the green reploid realize what he had unintentionally done.

"You're rather dim-witted for someone named 'Sage'.", he mocked, apparently trying to keep up an appearance of distaste, but Harpuia observed that the earlier malice in his voice was all but gone. "I don't have anymore time to waste on you today. If you are so intent on being a pest, wait for me here tomorrow after midnight. Don't be late." With that, he turned and stalked off, leaving the green guardian standing alone behind.

Harpuia watched the boy walk away, deep in thought, and unconsciously rubbed at he spot where Trance had placed his hand just a few minutes ago as the events of their first meeting played back in his mind.

_Maybe we can be friends, _he thought before warping out of the forest and back to the castle, where the technicians had installed a temporary transerver for their usage.

However, the moment his feet touched the castle grounds, he was tackled by a panicking Tails. "General Harpuia! General Harpuia! They are fighting to the death! Please stop them before someone really gets killed!"

"They WHAT?!" Harpuia immediately rushed out without waiting for an answer from Tails. Even though the castle was huge, there were no training rooms built inside the massive structure. Which means that there was only one place they could be fighting at: the courtyard outside the main doors. And while he had spent no more than 48 hours in the castle, he had memorized most, if not all of the floor layout chart in the room they had provided him, so he was fairly confident of finding his way around the castle easily.

True enough, it took less than a couple of minutes to reach the front doors, and as Harpuia approached them, the sound of metal clashing and fire shots being expanded could be heard as clearly as day. Without hesitation, he gripped the doorknobs and flung the double doors wide open.

The scene that greeted him dismayed him to no end.

What used to be a pretty courtyard adorned with many different species of flowers, a luxurious carpet of neatly trimmed grass and a huge water fountain had been reduced to a pile of ash and rubble. Gigantic holes have been blasted ,or punched, into the ground and bushes have been set alight. Harpuia didn't even need to guess who was responsible for the latter. And he could also see the black hedgehog send BOTH crimson reploids flying in the air with a blast of energy from his hand, only to be rudely rocketed back down to earth by a well timed kick from an all-too-familiar blue hedgehog. For a few seconds, he panicked when he realized Leviathan was nowhere to be found, until she came up from behind him, catching him by surprise. He glared at her, expecting an explanation, but she held out her hands. She, too, had no idea about this brawl until now.

Whatever it was, this fight had to be stopped. Not because he was concerned about their safety. In fact, he would have loved to belt Fefnir right there and then. Rather, it was the fact that he would have to answer to Queen Sally Acorn that rattled him: he had seen how brutally tactful and sharp-tongued she was when it came to dealing with troublemakers. If he had to compare her with the diplomats and councilors back in Neo-Arcadia, she would make every single last one of them appear like petty overgrown babies. Harpuia could not help but wonder if it was a blessing or a curse not to have someone like her in his government: On one hand, while he was frustrated with the inefficiency of their bureaucracy, he also needed his councilors to be able to work together. Having someone like her in his office would be a double-edged sword: while she could bully the councilors into getting things done quickly and efficiently, she would also quickly make a name for herself as the public enemy of all his councilors.

_Why the heck am I thinking about something like this when I got 2 problem reploids causing trouble wherever they go?! _He chided himself and turned to Leviathan. "Fairy, I need you to help me stop this fight before it gets worse."

She stared as him as though he was mad. "Sage, there's no way im going in there to get crushed by 4 crazy MALES." She crossed her arms, as though to signify the end of the discussion. Harpuia had to pinch his forehand to prevent himself from losing his cool: this was not the time to be a bastard.

"I didn't ask you to get yourself involved. How quickly can you conjure a huge pillar of ice?" :eviathan considered his request for awhile.

"Less than a minute."

"Okay, listen carefully. Start charging up now and observe those fools carefully. The moment they start to rush at each other, release that barrier of ice. Understand?" She nodded and proceeded to carry out her orders, her eyes and hands starting to glow a bright blue as her powers over water and ice were activated. Just a little more...

"Fairy, now!"

Leviathan immediately relased the energy she had been charging. As if from nowhere, a gigantic wall of ice suddenly appeared between the reploids and the hedgehogs. The blue hedgehog barely managed to change his direction in time, although he did succeed in not smashing into the wall of ice at 120 mph. That would have hurt, even if he had his spines for protection. Harpuia didn't even want to imagine the kind of damage one would undergo from crashing into a wall at that speed.

However, he had achieved his purpose: to stop the pointless fight before it got out of control, although he was inclined to believe that it was already way out of vontrol even before he arrived. Just as he was about to storm out and give Fefnir both a verbal and physical lashing, he was interrupted by the annoucement about the arrival of the Queen.

_What pleasant coincidence, _Harpuia thought sourly to himself. _It's going to be a very good day indeed,_


End file.
